After participating in the middle school’s second annual “Geo Bee,” Soham Khan, grade 8, has been selected to represent Harker at the state finals of the National Geographic Bee, slated to occur in Sacramento in early April. Khan also won the Harker Geo Bee last year and qualified to go to the State Bee.
Khan was one of 14 participants who took part in the Bee, held on the middle school campus. He emerged as the winner of the contest, which was intended to serve as a qualifying round for further competition against other schools at the state and national levels.
Each year thousands of schools across the country participate in the National Geographic Bee. Using materials prepared by the National Geographic Society, the highly competitive contest encourages teachers to include geography in their classrooms and spark students’ curiosity about the topic.
During the Harker Bee, fellow eighth grader Nikhil Manglik came in at a close second to Khan. According to Andrea Milius, grade 7 world studies teacher, both students answered all the championship-stage questions and had to go into extra rounds. “It was so sweet, when Soham won, Nikhil promptly wished him congratulations! All of the participants did a great job,” she said.
Following his win at the middle school, Khan successfully took a test in order to be able to go on to represent Harker at the next stage of the competition: the state level. For the final, national level, the Geography Bee only takes the top 100 qualifiers from each state.
The entire middle school wished Khan well during a recent school meeting. Marked by the Bee’s 25th anniversary and Alex Trebek’s final year as host, the much anticipated grand finale will take place in May at the historic National Theater in downtown Washington, D.C.
In an effort to honor and recognize the tradition of philanthropic support Harker benefits from every day, a new special addition has been added to the “Support Harker” section of the school website (shown at http://rt.harker.org).
“We are the fortunate recipients of charitable gifts and volunteer efforts which enrich the school experience for our students and create a warm and inviting community for our families. Showing our appreciation for our donors and volunteers is very important to us. We want to make sure we express our thanks in a timely way, and so we provide monthly updates here,” reads the new “thank you” website in its introduction.
Viewers can enjoy browsing through the site’s pages and reflecting on the meaningful impact their contributions and efforts have made at Harker.
“This website replaces our former printed piece, the annual report. In addition to being more environmentally and financially responsible than printing and mailing thousands of copies of the report, it allows us to more quickly thank and recognize our donors,” said Melinda Gonzales, director of development. She noted that the site launch coincided with the overall redesign of the main Harker website.
According to Gonzales, the site will be updated throughout the year by adding the names of all the families who carry on the tradition of annual and capital campaign giving, providing students with the “margin of excellence” that helps them thrive.
For questions about donor listings, please contact Allison Vaughan, director of donor relations and stewardship, at allison.vaughan@harker.org.
Harker senior Sumit Minocha is the fastest male runner in all of CCS and was named an Athlete of the Week by the San Jose Mercury! Minocha’s 10.84 in the 100m is the number one time in the league and the number five-ranked time in all of California. His time in the 200m – 22.38 – is also the best in CCS. Minocha put up both of those league-leading marks at the Gilroy Invitational this past Saturday.
At the Gilroy Invitational, senior Isabelle Connell ran her best ever time in the 100m and missed first place in the race by just .01 seconds. Her personal-best 12.59 ultimately earned her second place in the race. Connell came back, though, to win a very competitive 200m, running a Harker-record 25.21. That mark gave her the second-best time in CCS this year and the 15th best time in the state. Connell was named to the San Jose Mercury’s Highlight Reel this week for her efforts!
Sophomore Corey Gonzales bested his own school record in the 800m, landing in fifth place with a 2:04.17 run. Minocha, Connell and Gonzales have all been invited to the prestigious Stanford Invitational this weekend. Congratulations to all three!
Lacrosse
Girls lacrosse crushed Woodside on Tuesday in their first league match of the year, 21-6. Wendy Shwe, grade 12, and Hannah Bollar, grade 10, each racked up seven goals. Michelle Douglas scored four times, while Brinda Perumal, grade 11, Tara Rezvani, grade 12, and Tiphaine Delepine, grade 12, each added a goal apiece. Thursday, they defeated Stevenson 19-3 to improve to an impressive 7-1 overall. Goal scorers were Douglas with nine, Shwe with two, Delepine with three, Bollar with four and Alison Kiang, grade 10, with one.
Coach Berry said, “Harker’s starters set the tone in the first 15 minutes to allow the reserve players plenty of time on the field. The first 13 minutes saw the Eagles soar fast and often, netting 10 quick points. The rest of the way, however, Harker’s younger players received the bulk of playing time against a Stevenson team that has, in previous years, beaten Harker 15-3, 20-5 and 14-4. After spring break, the girls face Mercy Burlingame and the game will certainly have league championship implications. Please come out and cheer on the girls in a contest that will prove to be exciting.
Softball
Harker softball is undefeated through their first four league games of the season after hanging on for a tight 6-5 victory over rival Castilleja. Ashley Del Alto, grade 12, had hits in all four of her at-bats and knocked in a run. Brianna Liang, grade 10, went 3-4 with an RBI as well. Nithya Vemireddy, grade 11, hit a triple. Alison Rugar, grade 12, smoked a double. Alisa Wakita, grade 9, Sarah Bean, grade 10, and Laura Thacker, grade 11, all had hits as well. They lost, however, Thursday, to Yerba Buena, 2-1, in a tight game. Marita Del Alto, grade 9, pitched and performed well, striking out seven. Ashley Del Alto went 3 for 3 with a home run and Thacker had a hit. The girls face Pinewood and Notre Dame after the break.
The victory over Castilleja was the girls’ second one-run win in a row. The previous game, they pulled off a thrilling walk-off victory in the bottom of the 7th inning to defeat Mercy-Burlingame 5-4. In that game, Rugar excelled on both sides of the ball, striking out 13 while smacking a triple and knocking in a run.
The girls head off on the road to play Yerba Buena on Thursday, then return to Harker for a home game against Harbor on Friday.
Baseball
The boys blew out Lincoln-SF yesterday to the tune of 12-4. The win puts the boys over .500 on the year, as their record now stands at 5-4-1 overall. Jacob Hoffman, grade 12, led the way on offense, going 2-3 with a triple and two RBIs. On the mound, Varun Kamat, grade 11, took home the win after striking out eight.
Golf
The boys lost to Sacred Heart Prep yesterday, 193-210. Maverick McNealy, grade 12, earned co-medalist honors after shooting a 36 at Palo Alto Hills.
Tennis
Boys tennis lost to Bellarmine, to go to 6-4, then upped their record to 7-4 by beating Pinewood on Thursday, 6-1. Doubles results: Kevin Xue, grade 11/Justin Yang, grade 12 (Harker) def Dan Saflgrove/Rahul Narula (Pinewood) 6-0, 6-1; Jon Dai, grade 9/Pranav Bheda, grade 12 (Harker) def Brennan Kwo/Matt Quo (Pinewood) 6-1, 6-0; Vivek Sriram, grade 10/Thomas Lee, grade 9 (Harker) def Matt Kong/George Hung (Pinewood) 6-0, 6-0. The boys face Priory and Aragon after the break.
Swimming
The varsity girls came in first in the four-team meet and the JV girls placed second on Wednesday, and had many exciting races and CCS qualifiers. In the 100 free: Angela Huang, grade 9 (55.27) and Manon Audebert, grade 11, (56.28) placing 1-2 in the race; 200 free: Audebert, 2:01.85; 500 free, Kimberly Ma, grade 11, 5:29.27; freshman Grace Guan had a great day qualifying for CCS in both the 200 IM (2:16.69) and the 100 breast (1:12.01).
JV girls had a great meet, coming in first in the first event of the evening! Sanjana Kaundinya, grade 10, came in first in the 100 IM while Karen Tu won the 50 breast. Elisabeth Siegel, grade 9, won the 50 fly for the second meet in a row.
March has seen a number of notable achievements from Harker students at a wide variety of events!
Christopher Hildum, grade 10, was recently awarded a full scholarship to the Pacific Northwest Ballet School’s summer program. The PNB is one of the country’s top ballet schools, and the summer program is available to students only through invitation.
At the 2013 PhotoCentral Spring Show on March 16, Liza Turchinsky, grade 7, was the only school-aged participant to have her work displayed. Two of her works won People’s Choice Awards at the event, one of which was purchased by a collector. Of the 300 images featured at the show, only 10 are given the People’s Choice Award.
Chess enthusiast Shaunak Maruvada, grade 6, performed well at the U.S. National Junior Congress Chess Championship, held the weekend of March 23, tying for fifth place in the Under 20 category and finishing with an overall score of 3 out of 5.
Eric Pei, grade 8, finished 15th out of 67 sabreurs in Division III (adults) sabre of the the North American Cup held in Reno March 15-18. Pei, fresh to the age 14-and-over category this year, is ranked 33rd nationally out of 114 in the Y14 bracket; he finished last season ranked 8th in the U.S in the Y12 bracket.
Students at the lower school were greeted with an afternoon of great weather in early March, following a night of rain, during this year’s Jump Rope for Heart event.
By the time the K-5 youngsters got out on the blacktop of the Bucknall campus to celebrate having raised $997 for the American Heart Association, the ground was dry – and perfect for jumping rope, high jumping onto soft mats, limboing, leaping over makeshift hurdles, crawling through obstacle courses, shooting basketball and other fun activities.
Some teachers got in on the action too, as each grade level rotated to different stations for various activities, held both outside and inside the school’s gym. Unlike other times, this year’s event was run during P.E. classes, instead of as a whole school happening.
Students also had the option to take a quick break and enjoy some healthy snacks over by the lunch tables. Nearby was the “Heart Wall,” where they could attach small paper hearts adorned with special messages for loved ones or others in need.
Earlier, while encouraging his colleagues to attend the event, Jim McGovern, Harker’s assistant department chair of physical education, had said, “We encourage everyone to be involved in the fun by coming to the gym and watching the students participate in all the activities. If you have never seen kindergartners or first graders jump rope, that would be a special treat!”
He further noted that students were told that they were going to “jump, run and have fun,” all while raising money for a good cause. Donations, which were collected both online and in person, were still rolling in after the day ended.
The beautiful new Union campus was the site of the third annual Harker Alumni Families Easter Egg Hunt. Held on the morning of March 23, the event attracted more than 100 attendees, triple the number of participants over previous years.
In the past, the egg hunt had been held at the Bucknall campus. So for many alumni it was their first visit to Harker’s recently acquired third campus, home of the soon-to-be-launched preschool opening this fall, and future permanent site of the lower school.
Some of the alumni who came out for the fun family event are now themselves parents of current Harker students (or soon-to-be Eagles). Hearing the sounds of their own children at play on the new campus served as a perfect backdrop for those who opted to take a guided tour of the property, which many remarked already felt like an elementary school, despite the construction under way.
The atmosphere of the egg hunt was playful, with eggs strategically hidden throughout the grounds of the Union building. Adding to the festive mood was a bounce house and arts and crafts tables complete with child-friendly make-it-yourself projects, including egg shaped magnets, bunny masks and color-your-own crowns. A visit by the Easter bunny rounded out the morning.
“It was a wonderful day shared with family and friends,” enthused MaryEllis Deacon, director of alumni relations. “Being on the new campus and watching past generations and future Eagles all together was an added bonus for our special alumni community.”
The 12th annual Diana Nichols Math Invitational on March 10 was a “super success,” according to middle school math teacher Vandana Kadam. More than 300 participants from 23 schools took part in the contest, with several Harker students earning high placings.
In the grade 6 individual category, Rose Guan took fourth. Jerry Chen and Jimmy Lin took second and fifth, respectively, in the grade 7 individual contest. In the grade 7 team competition, Harker’s team of Chen, Jimmy Lin, Michael Kwan, Edgar Lin, Jeffrey Ma, Alexander Wang and Randy Zhao took first place.
The event included generous help from more than 30 upper school volunteers who helped administer the tests and write problems, and performed other tasks to make sure the event was well run. Grade 10 students Cindy Liu, David Lin and Ashwath Thirimalai, all of whom were participants at the invitational in their previous years at Harker, wrote problems for the exams. Liu also created the design that went on the T-shirts for this year’s event. “It is with pride I can say that the students who went through these contests as middle school students come back to write problems as upper school students,” Kadam said.
With the knowledge that there is nothing like a favorite “blankie” to comfort a suffering child, grade 7 middle school students in the advisories of Karina Momary and Julie Pinzás teamed up in early February to create blankets for donation to the South Bay chapter of Project Linus.
A volunteer-driven nonprofit organization giving blankets to children who are seriously ill or living in shelters, Project Linus works to provide a sense of security, warmth and comfort through the donation of handmade, washable blankets lovingly created by volunteer makers or “blanketeers.”
The blanket creation for Project Linus was the middle school students’ community service project for this year. Working in pairs, students produced 12 blankets for donation to the local branch of Project Linus.
To date, Project Linus has delivered more than 4,000,000 security blankets to children around the world and has nearly 400chapters in the United States. Although the organization originally donated blankets to pediatric cancer patients, recipients now include any child who is seriously ill or traumatized in some way.
“What a great opportunity to be able to use our advisory time to make a collaborative impact on our community to help children in need of comfort,” said Pinzás.
Felix Wu, grade 10, is among the top 10 finalists in the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library’s Profiles in Courage Essay Contest. The essay, which profiles Dennis Kucinich, former member of the U.S. House of Representatives, was one of 8,000 submitted for the contest. After four rounds of judging, during which it was reportedly reviewed by a number of U.S. senators, it was declared one of the 10 best. Wu will be awarded $500 and a signed copy of Caroline Kennedy’s book, “Profiles in Courage,” for reaching this stage of the contest. The judge who informed Wu of his achievement recommended that he send the essay to Kucinich, which he has plans to do.
Dance Jamz, the annual middle school dance show, entertained audiences at the Blackford Theater on March 8 and 9. Directed by Gail Palmer with choreography by Rachelle Ellis, Grant Chenok, Stephanie Bayer, Kimberley Teodoro and Palmer herself, middle school students (and several faculty members) hit the stage to perform a variety of uptempo dance numbers set to music by Skrillex, David Guetta, No Doubt, Michael Jackson and more. One of the highlights of the show was a routine featuring a cast made up entirely of faculty members, including history teacher Cyrus Merrill, English teacher Patricia Lai Burrows and art teacher Elizabeth Saltos. The finale saw the entire cast of dancers gather on the stage for a rousing number that received a fittingly enthusiastic ovation.
As usual, the stalwart crew of set designer Paul Vallerga, sound engineer Brian Larsen and lighting designer Natti Pierce-Thomson worked tirelessly to keep all the moving parts of this technically demanding show in order.